Fabric holder for mending and the like



Oct. 21, 1941. I J. A. MARSHALL 2,259,825 n 'FABRIC'HOLDER FOR MENDING AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 4, 1939 jizz/ak?? Patented Got. 21, 1941 Unirse n lTHE anni, A r Y I i l Jessie Marshall, Boston, Mass. Application January 4, issafsa'vriai No. 249313 (o1. en -ice) s y 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a, device for holding portions of fabrics suitably stretched for mend-v ing, darning, embroidering l.or other'` equivalent operations. n Y; i 1 n. r;

. It is "an object of the inventionv to,` provide means for holding portions of fabrics firmly but Without-danger of injury tothe fabric. It is a' furtherobject of the invention to hold the fabric in such a manner asto avoid undesirable distortionthereofr. It is still another object of the invention to provideholding' means which Vare adaptable to various shapes of fabric articles. As hereinafter described, the invention includes a light exible ring having a smooth non-slip surface. Such rings' can easily be carried in aj purse or hand-bag and maybe employed-singly or in groups in any situation where other fabric holding and stretching means have been employed and in many situations where-prior fabric holding means could 'not be successfully em,

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to a description of certain embodiments thereof which follows, and to the drawing of which Figure 1 is a perspective View of a device embodying the invention, a portion being broken away.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 o-f Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the device in use.

Figure 4 is a plan view of a modified fo-rm of the invention, in use.

Figure 5 is a sectional View of the device shown in Figure 4, in conjunction with parts of a sewing machine.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary elevation of an embodiment of the invention operatively located in the finger of a glove.

As indi-cated inFigures 1 and 2, the invention may be embodied in a single ring lll which is flexible and which preferably consists of a helical coil l2 of spring wire with its ends permanently secured together to form a circular ring. This coil is covered by a substantial coating I4 of rubber or equivalent material, this rubber forming a continuous smooth coating on the exterior of the coil and extending into the interstices between successive turns of the coil. The coating may be conveniently applied by dipping the ring into a suitable liquid containing rubberI preferably aprepared latex mixture which is selfvulcanizing or prevulcanized. The rubber content of such a solution enters into and fills up theY intersticial spaces between the successive turnsV of the coll and adheres to the wire so that a strong coherent ring isthus formed. It is preferredythat the turns of the coilbe-suiciently close ltogether to prevent any substantial ingress ofthe liquidinto y thehollow interiorfof the coil.

Thecoatingonlthe exterior is continuous Aand smooth. A number ofsuccessive immersione-may benecessary to Obtanthe desired thickness and smoothness of the' coating on the exterior Aof the C011.'- Y

When a single ringfofythis kind isused, it i.S preferredto employ 'therewith a shield which may consistof a semi-flexible disk I6 of suitable materialsuchr as bristol vboard, thin0 sheet Celluloid,r or any otherrsuitable equivalent. This `disk, is.

preferablyY circulares indicatedinFigure 1A but may be made' with anioval or. other shape, it being desirable thatY the perimeter be approximately equal tothe, length. .ofthe coil forming the ring.

While it is not' necessary. that thev disk i6 be at-v tached to the ring I0, it may conveniently be attached.looselythereto by aY-numberA of loops 181.gif, :thread vvhichxpass through thepdisk andy around the ring. The disk I6 acts as a guard to prevent the needle which is used to mend the fabric stretched over the ring from picking up portions of the fabric which are under the ring.

Thus, as indicated in Figure 3, a piece of fabric such as a stocking may have a portion 20 stretched over the ring, adjacent portions 22 of the stocking being gathered beneath the ring and held by a rubber band 24er other suitable tie. This leaves the hands of the operator free to hold the ring and the needle by which the mending or other operation is performed on the fabric. The shield I6 keeps the point of the needle away from the gathered portion 22 of the stocking beneath the ring so that there is noy danger of sewing together portions of the stocking above and below the ring.

A plurality of rings may be employed in superpo-sed position, if' desired, ralternate rings being inside and outside of the stocking or other fabric article to be mended or embroidered. It is preferred that the rings within the fabric be of slightly larger diameter than those outside of the fabric so that a sort of accordion form is produced, the fabric being very lfirmly held. 'I'his arrangement of larger and smalleprings is made possible by the flexibility of the` rings whereby a larger ring may be thrust through.

smaller rings.

Rings of graded diameters may be employed in Figures 4 and 5 to stretch portions of a fabric for mending, embroidering or stitching. As shown, a plurality of rings 30, 32 and 34 are arranged in nested relation, the rings being concentric and in a common plane. 'I'he diameters of the rings are preferably such as to allow a small clearance between the outside diameter of one ring and the inside diameter of the next larger ring to accommodate the fabric which is held by the rings. In order to hold the rings in proper relative positions as shown, a plurality of suitable spring clamps 40 may be provided, four such clamps being shown in Figure 4 v engaging the tops and bottoms of the rings. It is understood that a larger or smaller number may also be employed if desired. These clamps may be of any convenient structure, a hinged type of clamp being illustrated. The fabric is stretched over the smallest ring 3U, the next ring 32 being pressed against the opposite face of the fabric to hold the fabric in position on the ring 30. A third ring 34 may be employed, if desired, this ring being located'as shown in Figure 5 and resulting in a more secure gripping of the' The residual portion of the fabric isV fabric. gathered around the stretched portion so asV to beout of the way,particularly in case the mending is to be done by means of a sewing machine.

If the material is comparatively sheer so-thatl the gathered portion occupies little room, it may be gathered, as indicated in the left-hand portion of Figure 5, between the clamping jaws of the clamp 40. If preferred, the residual portion of the fabric may be held between or beyond the outer portions 42 of the clamps 40, as indicated at the right in Figure 5. 'I'his gure also illustrates a portion of the work platform .44 of a sewing machine together with a needle 4B and. work-feeding element 48. It is evident that the` holdingv device stretches the portion of the fab ric to be mended or embroidered in a. position which isadvantageous forroperationy by a sewing machine. f

`The flexibility of the rings described is notonly advantageous in mending stockings and thel like but also makes possible -the use of the ring in small articles such as a finger 50 of a glove to hold the material of the fabric suitably stretched for convenient mending as indicated in Figure 6. A suitable shield (not shown), equivalent to the disk I6 but suitably shaped to enter the glove nger, may be employed with the ring I9 within the glove finger.

It is evident that the rings embodying the invention can be used in other advantageous ways. The embodiments of the invention herein described are by way of exemplication of the invention and not of limitation.

I claim:

1. A flexible ring for holding fabrics for mending and the like, comprising a. helical coil oi spring wire, the ends of said coil being secured together, and a substantial coating of rubber covering the exterior of the coil and adhering to the wire, said rubber extending into and filling the interstices between successive turns of the coil.

2. A device for holding fabrics for mending and the like, comprising a ring of helically coiled spring wire having a continuous coating of rubber covering the coil and lling the interstices between successive turns of the coil, a circular disk of semi-ilexible sheet material having a diameter approximately equal to that of the ring, and Vmeans loosely attaching said disk to said ring to be concentric therewith.

y 3. A device for holding fabrics for mending and the like, comprising a ring of helically coiled spring wire having a continuous coating of rubber covering the coil and iilling the interstices between successive turns of the coil, a circular disk of semi-ilexible sheet material within said ring, and a'plurality of loops of thread passing through said disks at spaced points near the perimeter and around 'adjacent portions lof the ring to hold the disk loosely in place within the ring.

. JESSIE A. MARSHALL. 

